Common Sensibility,
culture and its discontent.
by Jo Bentdal
The format is traditional with references all the way back to the first psychological portraits of the renaissance. The models are representatives of the next generation of women, on the threshold to adulthood, casually dressed in their everyday attire, but instructed into a ceremonious and formal pose. Tension can be sensed. Tension between the young girls natural state and the strict constraints of the format, and a sense of confrontation with us as observers.
They appear strong, but at the same time vulnerable. Can they trust us? Are the parameters set by tradition and pervious generations acceptable? Culture and its discontents. The artistic measures that are applied in these pictures support the impression of the authority and entitlement of the new generation, but they also represent a confinement to their nature. A source of limitation and unease. This generation of girls respect themselves, outperform the boys of their own age at school and expect to be heard, but what expectations are they subject to? And what will meet them when they are crossing the threshold to a professional life and have to grapple with the legacy of their predecessors?
In the long term, the generations to come will own the results of our endeavours, and hence: ultimately we all report to them.
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